Funds Included in the Plan for Student Success
The 2008-09 Superintendent’s Plan for Student Success represents the financial plan for the Wake County Public School System. This year’s Plan includes a budget request totaling $1,979,184,732. This figure includes the system’s capital improvements budget, also known as the building program, and the operating budget.
The Capital Improvements Budget totals $736,723,078. These funds pay for design and construction of new schools, expansion of existing schools, and major renovation and replacement of older facilities to meet educational standards. The costs are paid primarily by bonds, where voters authorize the state or county to borrow money. The bonds are paid over a number of years through taxes.
The Operating Budget totals $1,242,461,654 and pays for day-to-day costs of running the school system, like salaries, supplies, maintenance, transportation, and utilities. This is called the current expense portion of the operating budget. It is paid for with a combination of state, county, and federal tax dollars, as well as with grants, fees, interest earned, and fines and forfeitures. The operating budget also pays some capital costs such as vehicle and equipment replacement and leases and relocation of mobile units.
The school system receives 61 percent of its funding for the operating budget from the state, 33 percent from local government and six percent from the federal government.
County appropriations are part of the funds received from local sources and comprise 27 percent of the budget while other funds such as fines and forfeitures, interest earned, E-Rate, tuition and parking fees, enterprise, and fund balance appropriation make up the remaining six percent. The total amount of funds recommended to be requested from Wake County for 2008-09 is $335,786,907. This represents an increase of $140 per student, which equates to a six percent increase in the local annual per pupil expenditure. This is a basic no-frills investment in our students.
WCPSS has historically done more with less when you look at our spending on a per pupil basis. Comparing local funding for the 2006-07 school year, Wake County spent $2,253 per student while Mecklenburg spent $2,332 per student, Guildford County $2,522, and Forsyth County spent $2,279 per student.
Providing each of our more than 140,000 students with a quality education does require a large investment, but it is one that the Wake County Public School System believes is necessary for our students and our community to continue to thrive and be among the best in the nation.